Although the petition raises—and has raised for the past two years now—some very important points, I regret to say that those points have not been answered fully. The problem lies in a point that Patrick Krause makes very well when he quotes the committee’s previous position. In his response to the minister’s letter to the committee, both of which can be found in the committee papers, Mr Krause says:
“Dr McLeod makes a general point, a reiteration of something her predecessor also said, that ‘National goose management policy is informed by the 2010 management review’. RACCE have on a number of occasions asked for a current review of the situation. We have also brought this up several times”.
That is the key point. The policy is operating on the basis of a review that was undertaken in 2010 of a policy that was set a long time before that.
The policy was put in place to cope with a very serious problem that I know from Islay and also, increasingly, from Kintyre, Gigha and Lismore—it is spreading across from the west coast. It was funded in order to resolve that problem, or at least to keep it in check, but it is no longer funded in that way, because the money is not available. However, the policy objectives have not changed, which leaves us in an impossible situation.
There needs to be a review, and it needs to start with two questions. First, what do we need to do to ensure that the numbers of geese are kept in check, so that crofting and farming, which in some places are being severely hindered, can take place unhindered? Secondly, how can we pay for that? Where are the resources and how can they be applied? Additionally, there is a European dimension that needs to be considered.
I have no doubt that the petition should be kept open. The committee should go back to the Scottish Government and say that we think that the nub of the matter is the operation of a policy that has not been reviewed since 2010; a substantial change in financial and other circumstances; and what might be a change in the nature of the problem. In those circumstances, there is a need for a new, independent review, and a need for that to happen quickly. The problem recurs annually and each year my constituents feel more and more strongly about it, as do people in Uist, Orkney and elsewhere. The problem is growing, not diminishing.